MEMBER SIGN IN
Not a member? Become one today!
         iBerkshires     Berkshire Chamber     MCLA     City Statistics    
Search
National Night Out in North Adams Draws Hundreds for Fun
By Tammy Daniels, iBerkshires Staff
01:02AM / Wednesday, August 03, 2016
Print | Email  

Officer David Lemieux dances the 'Macarena' at National Night Out. The event is designed to strengthen relations between neighborhoods and first responders.



Games and music were featured at the event, which drew hundreds to Noel Field. See more photos here.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Noel Field was turned into a community festival on Tuesday night for a mega-National Night Out celebration.

Children shrieked as they played in the bouncy house, or munched on hamburgers off the grill. Music blasted over the field and a group of young girls gave the "Macarena" a try.

Officer David Lemieux jumped in to lead them through the moves of a song that came out when they were just babes. And the burgers were being tossed by John Morocco, the city's retired public safety commissioner. Helping out were members of the Police Department and North Adams Ambulance Service.

Firefighters were playing water games with youngsters and handing out junior firefighter hats. Children explored ambulances and the Special Response Truck, and had their pictures taken by the fire truck. The Police Department raffled off a dozen bikes.

"It's quite thrilling, my children are actually having a blast going inside all the vehicles and meeting new friends," said Katelynn Martin, whose daughter was waiting to haver her face painted. "Everyone's having a blast."

The city's celebrated National Night Out for years within its well-defined neighborhoods. The national event is celebrated in more than 15,000 communities across the nation. In North Adams, it's co-sponsored by the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition and its programs, with support by the city and its public safety departments and the Ambulance Service.

The idea is for people to get to know their neighbors by having something of a block party, and to foster relationships with public safety, especially police. To do that, firefighters and police have had to try to cover four or five events within a few hours.

"I think [a single event] helps public safety and our first responders as they'd have put out three firetrucks and go neighborhood to neighborhood," said Mayor Richard Alcombright. "This allows them to be stationary and interact more with the kids, more with the people. ...

"I think a lot of this is about issues around public safety, whether perceived or real, they're out there. I think we need to be able to trust and respect our first responders, our police, our fire and EMS."

The mayor liked the idea of holding a single rather than multiple events, saying he'd like to do four or five a summer.  

"This is incredibly juiced-up tonight, it's a lot of fun," he said. "There's a lot of people here, a lot of energy, and a lot of groups. Kudos to all our first responders and kudos to those at the coalition and all the other agencies who came here to help us put this together. It's a fabulous night."

Those attending also had access to information on local programs, with each of the traditionally participating neighborhoods represented by booths, along with NBCC programs.

"I love it, it was fun," said Shirley Davis, longtime leader of UNO, the neighborhood group for the Bracewell area. Davis' ice cream tent was overrun by hungry youngsters early on in the evening. "I can't wait for next year," she laughed, dropping into a chair.

City Councilor Lisa Blackmer has made a point of getting to every neighborhood on National Night Out for years. "It's nice to see a lot of people here, all different ages and all different neighborhoods," she said. "I think it's a great event."

Shannon and Christopher Perin were there with four kids in tow. The family lives in the Blackinton area and has attended prior neighborhood events. But they liked this one big one.

"It's much better because everybody can actually get together," said Shannon Perin. He husband agreed, "You see your friends from the whole town instead of one little area."

"We've had a very good turnout today," said Sgt. James Burdick. "We've got food, we've got music, we've got all of the public safety people here, we're dancing with them, we're having fun with them. The kids are loving it and the adults seem to be having a good time. ...

"The thing I've been preaching in North Adams is — it's not just neighborhoods, it's a community."

0Comments
More Featured Stories
NorthAdams.com is owned and operated by: Boxcar Media 102 Main Sreet, North Adams, MA 01247 -- T. 413-663-3384
© 2011 Boxcar Media LLC - All rights reserved